Demi Vollering launched a blistering attack on the final climb of stage eight of the Women's Tour de France on Saturday, powering to victory in Nice and seizing the yellow jersey with one stage remaining.
The Dutch rider, who won this year's Giro d'Italia Women, made her move on the fourth and last ascent of the 172-kilometre leg from Sisteron to the Riviera coast. Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, the race leader, cracked with roughly six kilometres to go, sitting back down in her saddle as Vollering surged ahead along the Promenade des Anglais. Neither Niewiadoma-Phinney nor Elisa Longo Borghini could close the gap: Longo Borghini took second and Niewiadoma-Phinney third, both 17 seconds behind the winner.
"It's funny but only this morning I saw myself taking the yellow jersey," Vollering said. "I thought it might come true, that maybe that's the way things should be. During the day, I tried to remind myself I could do it."
Vollering raised her arms at the line before collapsing on the tarmac, gasping for air. "I was in so much pain, I can hardly describe it, but I made it happen," she said. "This goes to prove that if you really believe in something, if you dream big, it doesn't matter how much risk you take or how much pain you have to go through."
The day was not without drama behind. A long breakaway featuring Maeva Squiban and Loes Adegeest was only caught inside the final nine kilometres, with Squiban staying in the saddle after a heavy crash on a descent that left her arm bloodied. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt withdrew before the start after feeling unwell, her Visma-Lease a Bike team confirming the decision was taken with medical staff; she had been 14th overall.
Vollering now leads into Sunday's finale around Nice, a stage featuring four climbs of the Col d'Èze overlooking Monaco. Two years ago Niewiadoma-Phinney beat Vollering on the final mountain day to take the title by four seconds. "Tomorrow's course is going to be super hard," Vollering said. "We know it from the beginning of the Tour."
Sources
- AP News — Vollering wins Stage 8 to take overall lead at Women's Tour de France: https://apnews.com/article/women-tour-de-france-stage-8-ferrandprevot-0cf11d39bf3de490690efa2204e85379
